Construction begins on new Kentucky Lock

Barges traveling on the Tennessee River often experience traffic jams at the Kentucky Lock in western Kentucky, but construction is underway to build a new lock twice the length of the existing lock to ensure smooth shipping.

Building the new $532 million lock requires skillful coordination and communication between the many players. One player, Hanson Engineers, is responsible for the railroad component of this multi-faceted project.

New railroad bridge planned

Hanson Engineers is preparing a design memorandum, construction plans and specifications and is providing construction phase services for the relocation of the P&L Railway. The existing single-track railroad bridge travels over the Kentucky Dam and the Tennessee River, linking Paducah and Louisville, Ky. Relocating the bridge off of the dam to a downstream location will allow for the construction of a new lock at the dam.

The proposed structure is a high-level bridge, approximately 3,100 feet long with a 500-foot main span over the navigation channel. This project also includes approximately 12,500 feet of relocated single-track line involving embankment and cut slope designs. The new alignment will be located approximately 1,500 feet downstream of the existing location, and approximately 100 feet downstream of a proposed highway bridge. The project also includes replacing a new railroad bridge over Kentucky Highway 282. The relocated railroad will cross seven existing roadways.

“Working on a project of this scope is both challenging and rewarding,” says Buddy Abbott, contract officer for the Nashville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Abbott, a civil engineer, is working closely with Hanson Engineers and the P&L Railway on the railroad relocation portion of the Kentucky Lock project.“I’m excited about the opportunity to work with the P&L Railway and Hanson Engineers on the realignment of a mainline railroad over a major river crossing,” says Abbott. “Today, it’s rare that a project with all of these components comes along,” he adds.

According to Abbott, Hanson Engineers is playing an instrumental role in this project. 

“John Harms and Hanson’s team of engineers, technicians and biologists have taken on other tasks in addition to providing the railroad design. They have completed numerous surveys, sanitary sewer plans, waterlines, access roads, environmental assessments and wetlands construction,” says Abbott.

Coordination is key

In an effort to partner with the Nashville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Corps’ customer, P&L Railway, Hanson Engineers coordinates meetings at the project site every three months. Because the railroad bridge project involves numerous agencies and governmental entities, along with other consultants, the meetings provide a critical communications/problem-solving link.

"The key to this project, because of the time schedule, the need and the adjacent highway project, is coordination," says John Harms, project manager for Hanson Engineers.

Hanson Engineers’ coordination effort involves the Corps, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, a geotechnical consultant, the P&L Railway, and the consultant for the adjacent highway bridge. As the prime professional, Hanson Engineers is leading a team that includes Harrington & Cortelyou Inc., Kansas City, Mo., for the truss-span bridge design, Inca Engineering, Bellevue, Wash., for bridge deep-water foundation design and Constructioneering Inc., Seattle, Wash., for cost estimating.

Project gets underway

Construction for various parts of the project has started and actual construction of the railroad bridge is expected to get underway in June 2001. Rail traffic will be maintained during construction except during cutover. The proposed bridge over Kentucky Highway 282 will be built adjacent to the existing structure and rolled into place during cutover. Float-in construction will be used for the railroad trusses in order to minimize obstruction to navigation. 

Hanson Engineers will also perform a multi-modal dynamic analysis using three-dimensional frame analysis software for the seismic design of the new railroad bridge. In addition, Hanson is providing project management; structural engineering; civil engineering; geotechnical engineering for the Tennessee River bridge and the Kentucky Highway 282 bridge; environmental permitting and wetlands mitigation; and railroad engineering.

The artist’s renderings illustrate the layout of the Kentucky Lock addition. The rendering shown highlights the proposed 1,200-foot-long lock that will be built at the Kentucky Dam. The drawing also illustrates the proposed new 3,100-foot-long railroad bridge that will carry rail traffic over the Tennessee River. Hanson Engineers will oversee the design and construction of the new bridge. The site for the new bridge is approximately 1,500 feet downstream from its current location to allow room for construction of the new lock.